Furniture store owners pursuing dream

They moved to Augusta in 2000 in pursuit of their dream. Both of them had been in the retail furniture business for more than a decade.

But earning a wage in someone else's store did not give them the freedom or funding they needed to chase their passion.

The pair opened Walnut Valley Furniture Store just west of Augusta seven years ago but they never intended to be a "mom and pop" furniture store.

Owning the store was made possible after they saved up money from Jeff's five years running a pair of furniture stores in Dodge City. That ownership also provided them with the collateral needed to receive funding to begin manufacturing the furniture Jeff had been designing for years.

J.B. Madison Furniture has already received one patent for Jeff's designs and two more are pending. The patent in his possession is for his Madison Rail - which is manufactured in El Dorado.

The Madison Rail replaces a box spring under the mattress. It provides support but also has drawers that add storage to any bedroom. More than 500 of these products have already been sold. There are now 10 retailers across Kansas that sell the J.B. Madison Brand and that number is growing.

Jeff also designs occasional furniture. Some of those designs are manufactured in Joplin, Mo. His other outlet for his creative energies includes bronze castings, which are produced in Colorado.

But Madison's vision for his company didn't involve sending his designs to other cities and states for production. He is pioneering the idea of destination retail.

"We never wanted to be a mom and pop furniture store," Madison said. "We wanted to manufacture our own line of furniture. Some of these designs have been around since 1994 and are just now making it to retailers."

He would like to have a furniture manufacturer and bronze casting plant on his property. People could see how the furniture and castings are made.

"We have to give people from the south and east side of Butler county a reason to stop before they get to Wichita," Madison said. The plan would add a tourism aspect to what is now a furniture store.

You won't find Madison's work in the bargain basement. But he doesn't intend to price himself out of the market either.

"We'll never make the cheapest furniture," Madison said. "We make pieces that have heirloom value that people can still afford."

Madison is disturbed by the trend of American furniture manufacturers going out of business while low quality furniture from countries with fewer restrictions and cheap labor floods the American market.

"That furniture looks good," Madison said. "But it has no history, no soul, no heirloom quality."

Madison hopes that the American manufacturing sector will rebound as shipping costs begin to make the overseas creations cost more.

He also hopes to have a place among new manufacturers. He would even like that place to be in Augusta - in the city limits.

"We see our furniture being designed, built, and distributed in Augusta," Madison said. "We would love to be annexed. I think there are some other businesses out here that feel the same way."

Madison believes annexation would encourage other businesses to locate west of the city and add to the draw of the area.

He also likes the idea of the city developing a vision.

"I think the Vision Augusta meetings are great," Madison said. "If the city has a clear vision, businesses and people in general can buy into it. It will draw people in."
He believes people don't know the reasons to move to Augusta to live or build a business.

"We all know about the great schools and how great the people are, but a defined vision will tell people who don't know that about what the town is about and where we are going," Madison said.

He sees retailers like himself as the cure to a lot of the city's financial problems.

"Good strong retail fixes a lack of revenue," Madison said. He explained that a strong retail sector allows the governing body to be less reliant on fees and expenses to builders and developers, thus encouraging growth and not diminishing revenue.

Madison also supports the idea proposed by many people in the recent Vision Augusta meetings that the city would benefit through westward expansion toward the airport that is about five miles outside the city limits.

"If Augusta doesn't come out here soon, it won't be long before Andover will," he said.
But for now, Madison and his high school sweetheart who became his wife and partner will continue to run their furniture store and designing and distributing their own designs.

They have a clearly defined vision of where they are going.

Whether they are moving rapidly or creeping along in a tough economy, that vision keeps them on the right path and they know one day their dreams will become a reality.

Augusta Gazette

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